Nintendo feels 3DS will “take off” in the US this year thanks to upcoming release slate

Nintendo’s Bill Trinen believes 3Ds will “take off” in the US this year, thanks to the amount of titles in the works.

Speaking with Gamespot, Trinen said sales of handhelds in the US are historically slow, unlike in Japan where they take off like retail rockets.

“We have noticed that in the US in particular, people tend to, at least when it comes to handheld gaming, they tend to shift generations a lot more slowly than they do particularly in Japan,” he said. “In Japan, once a new handheld system comes out it’s like everybody just goes right to it.

“GameBoy Advance was the same way; DS was the same way; 3DS now. It does take a couple of years. But then once it does, it really builds steam and so with the lineup that we’re seeing this year, to me it really feels like this is the year that 3DS is really going to take off.”

3DS has moved 30 million 3DS and 85 million pieces of software worldwide since December 2012, and according to figures revealed by NOA yesterday, in the US alone, 3DS game sales have surpassed 20 million physical units in the US, and up 55% over last year when digital titles are taken into account.